Launched just two years ago and making one of its first appearances at the previous DSEi, Horizon is the latest InfraRed technology to be exported by Selex ES

The new marinised version of the camera, on show at stand [S5-110], is ready for marine and littoral applications

Finmeccanica – Selex ES has signed a contract to supply a number of Horizon HD Infrared (IR) cameras to a customer in the Middle East for long-range surveillance applications. The launch order, which was placed after a competitive tender, is a pilot purchase with the potential for further sales following an initial usage period. Deliveries will begin immediately and will be completed before the end of 2015.

Horizon HD is a Medium Wave Infrared (MWIR) thermal imaging camera that offers sustained performance, even at extremely long range. Of particular note for customers in the Middle East, the camera uses proprietary turbulence-mitigation technology to minimise the effects of heat turbulence that normally affects thermal imagery over long distances. The camera makes innovative re-use of the company’s Falcon HD detector inside a modular, integrated detector-cooler assembly. This design, combined with the Horizon HD’s 50,000-hour long-life cooling system, reduces the life-cycle costs of the camera and allows it to operate in-situ for long periods of time without need for maintenance.

Following this success, Finmeccanica – Selex ES is exhibiting the newly updated version of the camera at DSEi 2015. The new iteration of Horizon has been marinised, allowing it to survive long-term in the harsh marine environment. This work, combined with the camera’s existing turbulence-mitigation technology, makes Horizon particularly suitable for long-range, long-endurance surveillance applications such as on ships, coastal surveillance installations and off-shore platforms.

The Horizon camera is part of Finmeccanica - Selex ES’s wider thermal imaging portfolio which has been proven on operations with the armed forces of the United Kingdom and other nations. The company recently announced the world-first production 8-micron IR pixel detector (SuperHawk) making use of a proprietary new technique that fits four times as many IR pixels into an IR sensor than current products.

Finmeccanica – Selex ES has successfully integrated its core thermal imaging technology into a wide range of optronics systems for use in land, sea and airborne applications. These include a suite of soldier optronics systems, vehicle-based surveillance, targeting and fire control systems, naval gun fire control systems and airborne ISTAR turrets. These systems are designed, developed and manufactured at the company’s sites in Florence and Basildon.